Carlos Ortiz's attorney: Aaron Hernandez's brother is link

Jul. 9, 2013
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Carlos Ortiz, left, stands in Attleboro District Court with attorney John Connors, right, for his arraignment on weapons charges, Friday, June 28, 2013 in Attleboro, Mass. Ortiz was arrested Wednesday in Bristol, Conn., in connection with the murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez , now charged in the murder of Odin Lloyd. / George Rizer, AP

by Kevin Manahan, USA TODAY Sports

by Kevin Manahan, USA TODAY Sports

ATTLEBORO, Mass. â?? Carlos Ortiz, charged as an accomplice in Aaron Hernandez's murder case, knew the former New England Patriots tight end through Hernandez's older brother, Ortiz's attorney said Tuesday.

John Connors, a Fall River attorney appointed by the court to defend Ortiz, said it would be "a good possibility" that Hernandez's brother, D.J., and Ortiz â?? both 27 -- knew each other from their days as high school athletes in Bristol.

A person with knowledge of the case said D.J. Hernandez and Ortiz played basketball together when they were high school freshmen. The person asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on Ortiz's behalf.

D.J. Hernandez is the tight ends coach for the University of Iowa.

When Ortiz was arrested, he and D.J. Hernandez were Facebook friends, and Cesar Sanchez, who said he was a friend of Ortiz's, told USA TODAY Sports that Ortiz said "he went to the mansion to hang out" with Aaron Hernandez often. He was referring to Aaron Hernandez's residence in North Attleborough.

Sanchez added: "He never told me anything he did over there. He just told me he used to go up there and just hang out with him. That's it."

Sanchez said he didn't know how long Aaron Hernandez and Ortiz have known each other, but when asked how they had met, he said, "They're both from Bristol and know the same people."

Ortiz has been charged with possession of an illegal firearm.

On Tuesday, with Connors at his side, Ortiz agreed to be held without bail until Aug. 14, when he will appear in court again -- although it isn't certain whether the hearing will be to request bail, or to rule on whether Ortiz is dangerous, or both. Under a dangerousness hearing, which was postponed Tuesday, a judge can rule Ortiz a danger because he allegedly had an illegal firearm in public and order him held without bail for 90 days.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts use the statute as insurance against a defendant lowering his bail and gaining release, a district attorney spokesman said.

Connors said, for now, Ortiz agreed to be held without bail for two reasons â?? he's indigent and "couldn't make bail if it were even $10,000 or $20,000" and because Connors needs time to obtain court documents. A judge Tuesday approved Connors' motion for discovery on several items, including search warrants and affidavits.

Connors said he might request bail at a later date, but didn't say why he believed Ortiz could come up with the money to post.

Although Ortiz is being held on a lesser charge, Connors said suspects on gun charges are held without bail "all the time in Bristol (Mass.) County," because district attorney Samuel Sutter is on a "special crusade" against gun violence.

When asked if Ortiz has been talking to prosecutors, as has been indicated in court documents, Connors said, "He's talking to me." Connors said he is aware of statements Ortiz made in the few days he was in custody before Connors was appointed to the case.

Connors refused to say whether Ortiz was in the car, as prosecutors contend, on June 17, the night Odin Lloyd, a Hernandez friend and semipro football player, was shot five times and left in an industrial park in North Attleborough, about a half-mile from Hernandez's home.

Prosecutors say Ortiz is one of the two men Hernandez summoned to help him kill Lloyd.

Connors said Ortiz -- last seen crying in a Bristol courtroom -- is "confused" and "afraid" and "depressed" at the "situation he finds himself in." Ortiz appeared more composed Tuesday.

Hernandez, 23, has pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges and is being held without bail. His attorneys have called the case against him "circumstantial" and "not strong" and say Hernandez is eager to prove his innocence. He is next due in court on July 24.

Ernest Wallace, who has been charged with being an accessory after the fact, made a brief court appearance at his arraignment on Monday. Wallace, 41, of Bristol and Miramar, Fla., has pleaded not guilty and has agreed to be held without bail until another hearing on July 22. With that agreement, prosecutors didn't have to show their case against Wallace during the arraignment, so no new details of the case were divulged.